If you’ve spent even a few hours exploring Enshrouded’s post-apocalyptic open world, you know basic crafting materials are often the most frustrating to track down. Torn cloth is one of those items you’ll run out of constantly, whether you’re patching up worn armor, making bandages, or building storage containers for your base. I spent my first 10 hours in the game wasting time looting random houses for scraps before I figured out how to make torn cloth in Enshrouded consistently, and I’m sharing all the tricks I picked up to save you the hassle.
What You Need to Make Torn Cloth in Enshrouded
You don’t need any fancy workstations to craft torn cloth early in the game, which is a huge win for new players still building out their base. The only crafting station you’ll need is a basic workbench, which you unlock within the first 30 minutes of gameplay after rescuing the first Flame Altar. You won’t need to upgrade it or unlock any special recipes to start making torn cloth either, it’s available as soon as you place the workbench down at your base.
As for materials, the core component you’ll need is plant fiber, one of the most abundant resources in the starting areas of Enshrouded. You can collect plant fiber by cutting down small bushes, pulling tall grass, or looting wild plants scattered across the grasslands west of the starting Cinder Vault. You’ll need 2 plant fiber for every 1 piece of torn cloth you craft, so stock up when you’re out exploring.
I used to skip over small bushes while I was running to quest markers, but I quickly learned that stopping for 10 seconds to chop 3 or 4 bushes gives me enough plant fiber to make 10+ pieces of torn cloth later. It’s a tiny time investment that saves you from running back out to gather materials when you’re in the middle of upgrading your armor set or preparing for a shroud run.
Alternative Ways to Farm Torn Cloth Without Crafting
Crafting torn cloth from plant fiber is the most consistent method, but there are a few other ways to stock up fast if you’re already out exploring and don’t want to run back to your workbench. I use these methods when I’m clearing out abandoned villages or shrouded areas for other loot, and I usually come home with 20+ extra pieces of torn cloth every time.
- Loot cloth piles and wardrobes in abandoned houses: Every residential structure in the starting grasslands has at least one cloth pile or wardrobe you can search, and each drops between 1 and 3 pieces of torn cloth. You can also find larger cloth stockpiles in farmhouses and small town centers.
- Defeat bandit enemies: Low-level bandits that patrol roads and camp in small outposts often carry torn cloth in their loot bags. You’ll get 1 to 2 pieces per bandit, plus extra loot like coins and weapons you can sell or scrap for other materials.
- Search loot chests in shrouded areas: Common chests in low-level shrouded zones almost always have a few pieces of torn cloth, along with other useful crafting materials like resin and metal scraps. Just make sure you bring enough flame charges to extend your time in the shroud so you don’t get caught out when your timer runs out.
One mistake I made early on was ignoring cloth piles when I was looting houses for weapons and food. I’d clear an entire village and only pick up the high-value items, then realize I was out of torn cloth when I got back to base to make bandages for my next run. Now I make a point to search every wardrobe and cloth pile I pass, even if I think I have enough torn cloth stocked up.
Common Uses for Torn Cloth in Enshrouded
Torn cloth isn’t just a random junk material you’ll hoard in your storage chests. It’s used in dozens of essential crafting recipes, from early-game survival items to late-game base upgrades. If you’re wondering why you keep running out, these are the most common uses you’ll run into during your playthrough.
The first use most players run into is crafting cloth bandages, the most common early-game healing item. You’ll need 2 torn cloth and 1 honey to make 3 bandages, which are critical for surviving fights with wolves, bandits, and shrouded creatures before you unlock better healing options like healing potions. You’ll go through dozens of these in your first 20 hours of gameplay, so it’s smart to keep a stack of 20 or more in your inventory at all times.
Torn cloth is also required for every early and mid-game armor set, from the basic cloth armor you make when you first start to the padded leather armor you’ll use for exploring mid-level shrouded zones. You’ll also need it to craft furniture, storage chests, torches, and even some weapon upgrades as you progress through the game. Late game, you’ll also need torn cloth to craft specialized items like glider repair kits and fire-resistant cloaks for exploring the volcanic biomes, so you’ll never stop needing it even when you’re 30+ hours into your playthrough.
You can also trade torn cloth with some NPCs you rescue later in the game for rare crafting recipes and items, so it’s always a good idea to keep at least 50 pieces in your storage at all times. I once had to put off rescuing the blacksmith NPC for an hour because I didn’t have enough torn cloth to make the armor required to survive the higher-level shrouded zone he was trapped in, and I never made that mistake again.
Pro Tips to Stock Up on Torn Cloth Fast
Once you know how to craft and farm torn cloth, there are a few small tricks you can use to cut down on grind time and keep your storage full at all times. I’ve tested all of these across multiple playthroughs, and they cut my torn cloth farming time by more than half.
First, set up a small workbench near the edge of the starting grasslands where plant fiber is most abundant. You don’t need to build a full base out there, just a single workbench and a small storage chest. That way, you can gather plant fiber for 10 minutes, craft it all into torn cloth on the spot, store it, and keep exploring without having to run all the way back to your main base every time your inventory fills up.
Another tip is to prioritize looting villages with multiple houses instead of random standalone structures when you’re farming torn cloth from loot. A small village with 5 houses will give you 15 to 25 pieces of torn cloth in 10 minutes, which is way faster than running between scattered houses across the map. You can also combine this farming run with quests that send you to clear bandit camps in those villages to get double the value for your time.
You should also unlock the plant fiber gathering perk as soon as you get your first skill point. This perk gives you a 25% chance to collect extra plant fiber every time you harvest a bush or grass, which adds up fast when you’re gathering large amounts of material for torn cloth. It’s one of the most underrated early-game perks for new players, in my opinion, and it makes gathering all plant-based materials way less tedious.
At the end of the day, torn cloth is one of those small, easy-to-overlook materials that can make or break your early-game progress in Enshrouded. You don’t have to spend hours grinding for it if you follow the steps we covered, and keeping a steady stock will save you from a ton of frustrating interruptions when you’re trying to craft upgrades or take on tough quests. Once you get the hang of how to make torn cloth in Enshrouded, you’ll never find yourself stuck without it right when you need it most.